12/21/24 (12/22/24)
Hey y’all,
I’m writing on my notes app while mid flight. I’m not sure on the date here. It’s the 21st US time but 22nd Japan time. I’ll just keep both dates above for confusion!
Updates: not much. Origins is still waiting to be published. Got a few more days I can edit the book before it’s “finalized” by Amazon. I’m sorry if that’s confusing, but that’s not the point of today’s post.
It’s recently come to my attention that Foundations is starting to lose some reputation in my mind. Very few other people are reading it at this point, so I doubt it’s got much other reputation to speak of.
When I first published the book I was quite proud of my work. I’d still say I am, but for different respects. Now that Origins is done and slated for release I’ve gone back and started working through some errors in Foundations.
I like to give rating for my books in my head, though I know they’re subjective and easy to change. Recent change in opinions has made that clear.
When Foundations first released and I was working on Origins, I viewed Foundations as an 8/10 story and Origins a 7/10. Now with Origins done I’d swap those rankings. I did a lot of things better in Origins. But I’m sure it has plenty of overlooked flaws too. (Mostly grammatical just like Foundations.)
But just now, I’ve been editing through a paperback version of Foundations with a highlighter and I’ve found a lot of errors. A few places the wording didn’t make sense and there was even an instance of incorrect lore. (It was minor and shouldn’t change much, but my lore became more concrete in Origins.)
Anyway, my gut now rates it a 4/10…I’m going to be making some revisions to Foundations to make it an easier read. No real content should change, but it should be better in the future. For now all I’ve gone through was the Prologue. That’s one of the most important sections, but also such a small part of the book. We’ll see what the rest of the book holds.
I’m hopeful Origins is a little better than Foundations. The next book should take an even further step up, as is the goal. I’m sure each book I finish will make the previous ones look bad, and that’s probably a good thing.
It’s easy to be my own worst critic, especially when few other people are reading my work. I am blessed for those who have or are currently working through reading it all. Mostly since I can get outside perspectives from other minds. Everyone thinks and reads differently after all. I want my books to be accessible to all, not just strong imagination types like me. (Those people may already be busy writing their own worlds, or creating art in some other sense.)
What matters is growth. I want to grow better. I’ve already grown to this place, and thankfully plot events are pretty set in stone. (Including lore.) So nothing major should change, or I’d need a new ISBN! (Another point likely misunderstood, so I’ll leave it there!)
Anyway, that’s where I’m at: somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. I look forward to the growth to come.
I hope my current books look like crap down the line. That meant I grew, and I can help the old stories grow too, as much is possible without legal change.
Thank you for making it this far. Merry Christmas!
Comments